CleanVirginiaWaterways

Virginia Waterways Cleanup Events -- 2023!

We are proud to be part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup.

As you do cleanups in 2023, please be sure to COLLECT DATA about the quantity & types of litter you find!

Read about how to lead a litter cleanup in Virginia HERE.

The Ocean Starts at Your Front Door
2023 will be a great year for everyone to clean their neighborhood, a stream near their home, or do a cleanup while visiting a park or beach. Every square inch of Virginia is in a watershed, so we all help our ocean and the Chesapeake Bay by removing litter and trash – where ever it is found.

Data Collection: An Important Part of the ICC

Please collect data about the trash you are finding -- your data will be used to help us understand trends and come up with solutions to marine debris and plastic pollution!

You can collect data using paper Data Cards (download them here) OR you can use the CleanSwell App on your smartphone. NEW: Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and face masks have been added to the CleanSwell App and the paper Data Card.

These Longwood University students masked up to cleanup!

Safety First
CVW has expanded our safety guidelines for a safe cleanup. Read the Safety Guidelines here.

Register Your 2023 Cleanups with Clean Virginia Waterways using this Google Form. If you can't use Google, please send an email to cleanva@longwood.edu, or leave a message by calling 434-395-2602.

Questions or updates to the list of ICC events?
If you have questions, please send an email to cleanva@longwood.edu, or leave a message by calling 434-395-2602, and we will call you back.

As ever, thank you for supporting the International Coastal Cleanup in Virginia! Since Clean Virginia Waterways was founded in 1995, this annual volunteer event has kept MORE THAN 5 MILLION pounds of litter and plastic pollution out of our ocean because of your dedication.

2023 Cleanup events for fall 2023 will be listed here starting in July 2023.

Remember, YEAR-ROUND you can record data from your cleanups
using "Clean Swell" on your smart phone...from the Ocean Conservancy

About the Virginia Waterways Cleanup

This statewide event is part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup!
2023: Clean Virginia Waterways celebrates our 29th year of organizing the ICC in Virginia.
This annual statewide event not only cleans our waterways, it also collects valuable data about trash & litter in our waterways
Cleanups are held between August 1 and December 31 every year -- mostly in Sept & October
More than 127,000 Virginians have volunteered in Virginia since 1995
It is hands-on stewardship of our water resources
You CAN make a difference! Volunteer, lead a cleanup, or help support this important statewide effort by contributing to CVW.

THANK YOU to our partners and sponsors!

Our partners include corporations, foundations, and individual donors that make it possible for thousands of Virginians to participate in caring for our rivers and beaches. Thank you!

Please purchase a "Friends of the Chesapeake license plate! You will be supporting MANY worthy projects that are working for a cleaner and healthier Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's rivers too! Learn more: Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund

Glad Trash Bags
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (State Parks and Adopt-A-Stream program)
Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, Department of Environmental Quality

You too can support this annual statewide cleanup event! Please consider a donation to support our work! Learn more.

Our volunteers remove litter and debris by walking along shorelines..and by boat. Please join us for a rewarding day that will make you feel good about taking care of our planet!


Our volunteers remove litter and debris by walking along shorelines..and by boat. Please join us for a rewarding day that will make you feel good about taking care of our planet!